(54) “O you who believe, whoever among you turns back from his religion, Allah will bring forth a people whom He loves and who love Him, humble toward the believers and mighty against the disbelievers. They strive in Allah’s cause and do not fear the reproach of any reproacher. That is Allah’s bounty, which He grants to whomever He wills. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.”
The Most High states that He is self-sufficient and has no need of any creature. Whoever turns back from his religion will not harm Allah in the least; he harms only himself. Allah has sincere servants and truthful men whose guidance the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful has undertaken, and whom He has promised to bring forth. They are the most complete of people in their qualities, the strongest in spirit, and the finest in character. Their noblest quality is that Allah “loves them and they love Him.” Allah’s love for a servant is the greatest blessing He bestows upon him and the finest distinction with which He favors him. When Allah loves a servant, He facilitates the means for him, makes every difficulty easy for him, enables him to perform good deeds and abandon evil deeds, and turns the hearts of His servants toward him in love and affection.
A necessary consequence of a servant’s love for his Lord is that he must follow the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—outwardly and inwardly, in his words, deeds, and every circumstance. The Most High said: “Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me, and Allah will love you.’”
Likewise, one necessary consequence (1) of Allah’s love for a servant is that the servant frequently draw near to Allah through obligatory and voluntary deeds. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said in the authentic hadith, reporting from Allah: “My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him. [My servant] continues to draw near to Me through voluntary deeds until I love him. When I love him, I become the hearing with which he hears, the sight with which he sees, the hand with which he strikes, and the foot with which he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give him, and if he seeks refuge with Me, I will surely grant him refuge.”
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Among the necessary requirements of loving Allah are knowing Him, Most High, and remembering Him often. Love without knowledge of Allah is gravely deficient; indeed, it does not truly exist, even if it is claimed. Whoever loves Allah remembers Him often. When Allah loves a servant, He accepts even a little good work from him and forgives his many lapses.
Another of their qualities is that they are “humble toward the believers and mighty against the disbelievers.” They are humble toward the believers because of their love for them, their sincere concern for them, their gentleness, kindness, compassion, mercy, easy manner, and readiness to give them what they ask. Against those who disbelieve in Allah, stubbornly reject His signs, and deny His messengers, they are mighty. Their aspirations and resolve are united in opposing them, and they exert every effort through every means by which victory over them may be attained. The Most High said: “Prepare against them whatever force and warhorses you can, thereby deterring Allah’s enemy and your enemy.” He also said: “Firm against the disbelievers and compassionate among themselves.” Firmness and severity toward Allah’s enemies are among the deeds that draw a servant nearer to Allah, and through them the servant acts in accordance with his Lord’s displeasure toward them. Yet firmness and severity toward them do not preclude inviting them to Islam in the best manner. Firmness toward them is thus combined with gentleness in inviting them. Both are in their best interests, and the benefit returns to them.
“They strive in Allah’s cause” with their wealth and their lives, their words and their deeds. “They do not fear the reproach of any reproacher.” Rather, they give precedence to pleasing their Lord and fearing His reproach over the reproach of created beings. This demonstrates the strength of their aspirations and resolve. A faint heart is weak in aspiration: its resolve crumbles when reproachers blame it, and its strength wanes when critics censure it. Such hearts contain a measure of servitude to other than Allah in proportion to their concern for people and their allowing people’s approval and censure to outweigh Allah’s command. A heart cannot be free from servitude to other than Allah until, for Allah’s sake, it fears no reproacher’s reproach.
After the Most High praised them for the noble qualities and lofty virtues He had bestowed upon them—which necessarily imply other good deeds that He did not mention—He explained that all this came from His bounty and beneficence toward them. This was so that they would not become impressed with themselves, so that they would thank the One who had bestowed it upon them and thereby receive an increase from His bounty, and so that others might know that no barrier obstructs the bounty of Allah, Most High. He therefore said: “That is Allah’s bounty, which He grants to whomever He wills. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.” That is, He is boundless in bounty and beneficence and abundant in gracious gifts. His mercy encompasses everything, and He lavishes upon His allies from His bounty what He does not grant to others. Yet He knows who deserves His bounty and grants it accordingly. Allah knows best where to place His message, both at its root and in its branches.